Industry Publications

A recent study out of Rush University Medical Center in Chicago and published in the journal Neurology reports that deaths due to Alzheimer’s disease are greatly under-reported. The death certificate and medical records of Alzheimer’s patients frequently list the immediate cause of death, such as pneumonia, rather than the underlying cause, which is the inability to fight…more »

On February 10, 2014 the ALZFORUM (www.alzforum.org) highlighted work by a team from Columbia University showing that astrocytes, a specialized type of glia cell, cause the death of motor neurons in an in vitro study of cells from ALS patients. The authors of the study are now trying to identify the toxic factor that astrocytes…more »

A manuscript published in the May 5 edition of Nature Medicine documents research findings that stimulating endogenous ATP release from astrocytes induces antidepressant-like effects in mouse models of depression. The authors summarize their study by stating that: “Understanding the mechanisms that underlie the antidepressant-like effect of ATP may allow the identification of new targets for…more »

A new study recently published by GliaCure President Phil Haydon’s research lab at Tufts University indicates that astrocytes play a vital role in the spread of damage after stroke. This study, published in The Journal of Neuroscience, suggests that, while researchers have previously focused on the role of neurons and their release of neurotransmitters in…more »

GliaCure President Phil Haydon’s research laboratory at Tufts University has published a study showing that glia may provide the key to a novel treatment for depression. It has long been known that a total night of sleep deprivation has a fast-acting antidepressant effect; however, the mechanism underlying this effect was not understood. The Haydon group…more »

The New England Journal of Medicine recently included papers detailing research from two groups pointing to a mutation in the gene TREM2 as a risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease. This mutation appears to lead to inflammation of the brain and decreased clearing of amyloid beta plaques. In discussing these papers Harald Neumann and Mark J.…more »

On May 10, 2012 an article by was published by a research group in the journal Cerebral Cortex. This paper details a study in human brain tissue showing that bidirectional signaling takes place between neurons and astrocytes. Cerebral Cortex is not an open access journal, so the full report is available only to subscribers; however,…more »

Abstract – Astroglial cells, due to their passive electrical properties, were long considered subservient to neurons and to merely provide the framework and metabolic support of the brain. Although astrocytes do play such structural and housekeeping roles in the brain, these glial cells also contribute to the brain’s computational power and behavioural output. These more…more »